Man cleared of harming baby son after council social services raised concerns

An engineer whose baby son suffered head injuries shortly after he confessed a gambling habit during a row with his partner has been cleared of deliberately harming the youngster by a family court judge.

Council social services bosses with responsibility for the baby’s welfare said the man had “inflicted” the injuries on his son.

But he said he accidentally dropped the boy on to a wooden floor.

Judge Clifford Bellamy said the man was “under stress” when the baby was hurt, having just had an argument with his partner, but social service bosses had not proved that he deliberately harmed the boy.

Detail of the case emerged in a ruling published by the judge following a private family court hearing.

Judge Bellamy, who hears cases in Leicester, said the family involved could not be identified.

Social workers wanted the judge to rule on the cause of the baby’s injuries to help them make decisions about where he should live.

The judge said the boy had spent about three days in hospital and was now living with his mother.

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